Thirty years have passed since the "dekasegi" phenomenon began in Japan, and many Japanese South Americans have now settled in Japan. The proportion of elderly people is gradually increasing, and there are also increasing cases of families who have decided to live in Japan permanently bringing over their elderly parents from their home countries. Are Japanese Latinos in Japan "prepared for retirement"?
In Japanese communities in South America, there are unique elderly support and welfare services that utilize donations from influential people, many volunteers, and support from Japan. The form of these services varies from country to country, but the current situation is that each community is responding with their own ingenuity.
For example, in Brazil's Japanese community, "Kaikan (meeting halls)" and welfare facilities in various Japanese communities each provide services for the elderly. Many volunteers, including officials, plan various events for the elderly and cover the maintenance and repair costs of the facilities. However, as the generational change progresses, donations and contributions are decreasing, making it difficult to operate. In addition, there are many Japanese organizations that carry out similar projects, which is affecting fundraising.
It is said that securing financial resources for community support of the elderly will become an even bigger problem in the future. A recent article in the Nikkei Shimbun1 strongly advocated the need for local organizations to merge as one solution to such financial problems. How the younger third and fourth generation Japanese get involved in welfare activities run by Nikkei organizations will be the key to each organization's continued support of the elderly, but more calm, rational, and efficient judgment will be required.
Meanwhile, in the case of the Japanese community in Peru, the majority of Japanese people live in the city of Lima and its suburbs, so the Jinnai Center2 of the Peruvian Association of Japanese People (APJ-Asociación Peruano Japonesa) and the Okinawan Association of Peru (AOP-Asociación Okinawense del Perú) are bases for supporting elderly Japanese people. They offer preventive care classes, various recreational events (karaoke, dancing, travel, theater), and operate rehabilitation and nursing support services and homes. Many of them are similar to day care services in Japan.
These efforts are unique to a country that does not have a nursing care insurance system or a reliable pension system like Japan. In Japan, it is common to "prepare for retirement" through the national pension system, but to what extent are Japanese Latinos in Japan making use of this system?
As of June 2017, the Immigration Bureau's statistics indicate that there are 185,000 Brazilians and 47,000 Peruvians in Japan. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's 2016 foreign employment statistics, there are 106,000 Brazilians and 26,000 Peruvians registered as employed.3 Looking at the immigration bureau's statistics by age, the proportion of people aged 65 or older is 4% for Brazilians (approximately 6,740 people aged 65 or older, of which 740 are aged 75 or older), while it is 3.6% for Peruvians (1,700 people aged 65 or older). Compared to the 26 % proportion of the Japanese population aged 65 or older, the proportion of elderly people among Japanese Latinos is low, and it can be seen that there are many young families with children staying in Japan.
Looking at these statistics, it cannot be said that the Japanese Latino community in Japan is facing an aging problem yet, but it is unclear how many of the approximately 4% of elderly people actually receive Japanese pensions. It is interesting to know how they manage their household finances, but it is often the case that adult children do not continue their education and instead get jobs, so it can be assumed that the entire family is making up for the increased burden of the elderly. Also, considering that the main working age group is in their 40s and 50s, it is necessary to think about whether this age group will be retirees in 10 to 15 years and will be able to spend their retirement years in peace in Japan.
Many Japanese workers in South America are not enrolled in social insurance, which covers medical care and pensions, from the time they arrive in Japan. If they enroll in a pension scheme, they will eventually be able to receive a pension according to their income, but some are not eligible to receive a pension because their enrollment period is short. Of course, the best measure is to enroll in a pension scheme for as long as possible, but many Japanese Latinos withdrew from the scheme through the lump-sum pension withdrawal system when they returned to Japan after the Lehman Shock in 2008 or the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and lost their eligibility to receive a pension.4 Even if they return to Japan and enroll in a pension scheme, they will start from scratch, so there are cases where the enrollment period is insufficient, or the amount of the pension they receive will be significantly smaller even if they are able to receive it. The 2017 pension reform law shortened the eligibility period for receiving a pension to 10 years, so the number of people who pay out of pocket will surely decrease, but it is said that it is desirable to enroll for at least 25 years, and preferably 35 years, in order to live a comfortable pension life, and it is likely that more people will be able to receive only small amounts.
Another concern for life after retirement is the increasing debt burden from mortgages and other sources. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's report on foreign employment, many Japanese workers in South America are indirectly employed through temporary employment agencies, and they are prone to become a safety valve for employment during economic downturns. In indirect employment, wages often do not increase with age, and in some cases, wages are reduced when workers reach their 50s, or they are forced to move from factories to the service sector, such as nursing care, resulting in a decrease in income. It is said that there are still many Japanese who rely on consumer loans to purchase cars and home appliances. In fact, there are still ongoing cases of people being forced into personal bankruptcy due to the burden of high interest rates (the number has increased significantly since the Lehman Shock).
Health problems are also a major issue that accompanies old age. Companies provide employees with annual health checkups, but employees must voluntarily undergo additional tests and treatments. Cancer screenings and other tests are subsidized by health insurance and local governments, but even if publicized in Spanish, few people take them due to the language barrier and a certain financial burden. Many foreigners who have lived in Japan for a long time do not make full use of these systems.
In addition, while a more balanced diet and appropriate exercise are required to maintain health, Latin food is quite heavy and increases the risk of lifestyle-related diseases and high blood pressure. Even though Japanese people are familiar with Japanese food, for many Latinos, "mother's cooking" is still "criollo cooking (local regional cuisine)."
For the past two years, Elisa Ozawa, a Japanese Argentine, has been holding "Care Prevention Classes - Siempre GENKI (Always Healthy)" for such Peruvians, with the aim of maintaining their health and preventing dementia. Her name is Elisa Ozawa, a Japanese Argentine. She holds classes in Fujisawa, Hiratsuka, and Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture, where Peruvians live in relatively large numbers, and not only provides a variety of useful information, such as preventative care menus, but also works to improve health awareness5 .
For us Japanese Latinos, the word "old age" does not have a very pleasant ring to it. In Spanish and Portuguese, "old age" is expressed as "tercera edad (terceiro idade), retirado /jubilado (aposentado), vejez (velhice)," but none of them are very friendly. Most Japanese people are very conscious about preparing for retirement, and always set aside some financial resources along with their children's education, but when we explain the necessity of such preparations to Japanese Latinos in South America, they do not understand. When we consult with them, most of them are not financially well off. It is typical of South Americans to have little savings, but I feel that since they are living in Japan, they should plan their lives from a longer-term perspective.
As mentioned at the beginning, Japanese communities in South America have their own elderly support and welfare services that utilize donations from influential people, many volunteers, and support from Japan. Therefore, some Japanese people living in Japan hope to take advantage of these services and spend their retirement years in their own country. However, they are required to pay for all nursing homes they can enter. Even welfare services in Japanese communities require them to become members and make a certain contribution. If they return to their home countries penniless, they face the reality that no one will take care of them.
And even if they remain in Japan, they risk leaving a lot of debt to their children's generation. "Leaving your home behind" sounds good, but in Japan, a home becomes yours only when you have paid off the 30-year mortgage, and after that, repairs, taxes, and insurance costs continue, and the asset value generally declines. With these realities in mind, it is necessary to prepare for "old age," which sounds unpleasant.
Notes:
1. " Is this the beginning of an era of integration for the Japanese community in Brazil? " (Nikkei Shimbun, February 27, 2018)
2. APJ - Centro Recreational Ryoichi Jinnai
In 2017, the Jinnai Center celebrated its 25th anniversary with various commemorative ceremonies. For more details, see Kaikan magazine, issue 111, July-August, although it is in Spanish. The center's greatest contributor was Ryoichi Jinnai, who passed away last June. A wealthy businessman, Jinnai donated to many projects for child welfare and Japanese communities in South America. In Japan, he is known as the founder of consumer loan company Promise, and is also an entrepreneur who established Jinnai Farm 21 and launched the Hokkaido brand "Jinnai Wagyu Aka."
3. Statistics from the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice : As of June 2017, there were 2.47 million foreigners who had filed residence notifications, of which 247,000 were from South America.
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare foreign worker employment statistics : As of October 2016, 1.08 million foreign workers are working in Japan. Companies that employ foreign workers are required to submit this notification.
4. The Pension Service website has information in other languages on the system, the terms and conditions of the procedure, and the application form for download. To apply for the lump-sum pension withdrawal system , you must apply from your home country and mail the relevant documents. If you go through this procedure, you will lose all rights when you receive the refund, no matter how many years you have paid.
5. " Siempre GENKI ," launched by Elisa Ozawa from Argentina, posts information about the dates and locations of care prevention classes via Facebook.
© 2018 Alberto J. Matsumoto
